Ensilage loader with automatically positioned cutter reel

ABSTRACT

A boom swingable in a vertical plane acts to move a cutter reel down the wall of a pile of ensilage or similar material. The reel is mounted on an extension carried by the boom, and the extension is interconnected with the boom by a mechanical linkage that acts to automatically change the radial distance of the reel from the bottom pivot axis in response to movement of the boom thereby to maintain the plane of the cuts substantially vertical.

[H1 3,847,266 Nov. 12, 1974 1 United States Patent 1191 Cox 3,347,029 9/1967 Grinwald 56/9 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS I ENSILAGE LOADER WITH AUTOMATICALLY POSITIONED CUTTER REEL [75] Inventor: Delbert L. Cox, Garden City, Kans.

Butler Manufacturing Company, Kansas City, Mo.

Apr. 5, 1973 Primary Examiner Richard A. Schacher Assistant Examiner-Richard K. Thomson [73] Assignee:

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lowe, Kokjer, Kircher. Wharton & Bowman [22] Filed:

[57] ABSTRACT A boom swingable in a vertical plane acts to move a cutter reel down the wall of a pile of ensilage or similar material. The reel is mounted on an extension car- Appl. No.: 348,243

[52] U.S. 198/9, 198/36 [51] Int. 865g 65/06 198/9, 36; 212/54 Field of Search ried by the boom, and the extension is interconnected with the boom by a mechanical linkage that acts to au- References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS tomatically change the radial distance of the reel from the bottom pivot axis in response to movement of the boom thereby to maintain the plane of the cuts substantially vertical.

198/9 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures mw USS H0O 1,068,279 Schrader.......,..,................,.. 2,696,375

ENSILAGE LOADER WITI-I AUTOMATICALLY POSITIONED CUTTER REEL BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Cutters for removing silage from a stack or pile of ensilage and loading it into a truck or other carrier have been known. As a particular example of equipment of this type, reference is made to Oswalt US. Pat. No. 2,724,481, issued Nov. 22, I955. The patented unit comprises in general a cutter mounted at the outer end of a pivotal arm, the arm operable to swing the cutter up and down with respect to the wall of the stack so as tocut ensilage from the wall. The cutter is associated with a conveyor having a receiver positioned near the base of the stack which receives the silage and enables it to be conveyed from the vicinity of the stack to an ap propriate receptacle.

One of the drawbacks inherent to the construction of the apparatus just described is that the cutter reel moves about a fixed pivot and therefore tends to establish an arcuate cut in the wall of the silage. In particular, the cutter tends to produce an overhang at the upper limit of the stack, which in some circumstances may fall free with possible danger to those in the vicinity and also creating handling problems.

Several methods have been tried in the past to achieve a more nearly vertical cut on the face of the material being loaded. Apparatus shown in US. Pat. No. 2,877,057 uses a vertical derrick support to guide thecutter down the cut in the wall. However, there are disadvantages to this arrangement in that the overall structure is rather cumbersome and creates problems in transportation. Also, the cut height is limited by the height of the support derrick.

Efforts have been made to hydraulically move the combination boom and conveyor longitudinally by the use of a hydraulic cylinder. However the cylinder was under manual control and positioning was left up to the operator. As a result, it was difficult to achieve a uniform cut and the operation required a great deal of skill.

, A modification of the unit disclosed in the aforementioned US. Pat. No. 2,724,481, has also been provided, the modification comprising a telescoping boom which extends longitudinally-by a hydraulic cylinder actuated in a slave cylinder arrangement. However, because of the substantial amount of side thrust that is exerted on the cylinder rods, the cylinder seals soon start to leak in this type of arrangement. Also, the telescoping portion of the boom requires constant lubrication and moreover, the exposed portion is always exposed to contact with silage which tends to interfere with freedom of telescopic movement.

In general terms, the device of the present invention is intendedto serve the same generalpurpose as the de vices noted above, but it does so ina way which avoids the problems noted in connection with those devices. By virtue of a unique means of interconnectingthe reel with' the main pivotal boom, the reel is self-extending and retracting as the boom pivots, and no special operatorskills are required inorder to assure of a proper path of movement for the reel. The reel maintains a nearly vertical cut upon the face of the material. There are no additional hydraulic cylinders to maintain or add to the cost of the equipment. The number of moving parts are few, and lubricated areas not exposed to foreign material. The stability of the unit during transport is vastly improved over the vertical derrick machines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of an ensilage cutter and loaderconstructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, parts being broken away for purposes of illustration;

FIG. 2 is a generally top plan view taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 44 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 5-5 of FIG. I in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, the entire loader structure is carried by a tractor 10 of conventional construction. The loader is supported on the tractor toward the rearward end thereof by an upright frame structure 11 secured to the tractor rear axle and frame.

The upright frame structure includes two spaced uprights 1 1a, the upper ends of which provide support for a horizontal structural tube 12. Tube 12 serves as the main support mounting for a conveyor 13, being connected thereto by arms 14 which are secured to and project radially upwardly from tube 12 on opposite sides of the conveyor. The arms 14 respectively carry bearings through which extends a. pin 15.

The pin 15 passes through and extends outwardly from plates 16 which are secured to opposite sides of the conveyor as by bolting or otherwise. There is thus provided a pivotalinterconnection between the frame 11 and the conveyor, the pivot axis being the axis of the pin 15.

The plates 16 have connected to their upper ends bearings 17. The bearings 17 cooperatewith stub axles 18 connected with and forming a part of the boom assembly .19 to provide a horizontal pivot therefor. More will be said of this later.

The conveyor 13 is a conventional endless belt conveyor, the upper flight of the belt being indicated at 20 (FIG. 2) and the lower flight at 20a (FIG. 1). The belt is trained about rollers or drums at the opposite ends of the conveyor structure,.the upper drumbeing shown at 21. The belt is drivenby a hydraulic motor 22 drivingly connected with the drum 21. The lower drum (not shown) is located within the receptacle portion 13a atthe lower end of the conveyor, where the belt receives silage for delivery to the upper end of the con- .veyor where it can be discharged.

The lower end of the conveyor is supported by an operating and support assembly including the hydraulic cylinder 23. The cylinder 23 is capable of raising and lowering the conveyor and receiver. 13a about the pivot axis 15. Asaddle 24 supports the boom in its stored position. However, the details of this arrangement play no part in my present invention and will not be further described.

The boom assembly 19 is located above and runs generally longitudinally of the conveyor 13. It carries at its outer end the silage disengaging reel 25. The reel is driven by an appropriate drive means, for example, another hydraulic motor shown schematically at 26 in FIG. 2. Motor 26 is supplied by a line 27 and drives the reel through chain 26a.

The boom 19 is made up essentially of two components, which for purposes of illustration will be identified as the upper boom portion 28 and the lower boom portion 29. The reel 25 is carried at the outer end of the upper boom portion 28. As can be best seen in FIG. 4, each of the boom portions is preferably in the form of a rectangular tube.

The boom portion 29 has associated with it the stub axles 18 providing a pivotal mounting for the boom. The stub axles are carried by a frame portion 30 connected with and extending rearwardly of the lower boom portion 29. The pivotal motion of, the boom is under the control of a hydraulic cylinder 31 which is pinned to a stationary pivot 32 on the conveyor 13 and at 33 to the frame 30. Appropriate hydraulic supply lines (notshown) are provided with the cylinder 31.

The upper and lower boom portions are interconnected by links 34 and 35. There are two of each of the links 34, 35, one on each side of the boom portions. The links are pivotally connected with the boom portions, link 34 at 34a and 34b and link 35 at 35a and 35b. In the preferred embodiment, the distance between pivot points 34a, 34b and 35a, 35b are the same and the links are parallel, as is evident from the drawings. Link 35 has an extension which is pivoted at 36 to a control link '37. The control link 37 is pivoted at v 38 to a relatively stationary pivot on the conveyor 13.

It will be understood, of course, that hydraulic controls and a hydraulic circuit are provided for controlling thevarious cylinders and hydraulic motors. These controls however are conventional and, inasmuch as their, interconnection with the various components would be obvious to an engineer in this art, further description is believed unnecessary.

In operation, it is desirable to raise the reel sufficiently to clear the top of the silage pile, position the receptacle portion 13a of the conveyor until it is just adjacent the bottom of the silo and then advance the tractor against the silage. Of course, the receiving truck or wagon (not shown) will be located under the discharge end of the conveyor 13 prior to cutting of the silage. The conveyor and reel are then set in motion.

The boom is raised, of course, by extending the hydraulic cylinder 31. As the cylinder pivots the lower boom portion 29 about its axis 18, the link 37 will be pivoted about its pivot axis 38. Accordingly, the link 35 in conjunction with link 34 will serve to control the relative positions of the upper boom 28 and lower boom 29. Obviously, as boom section 29 is pivoted upwardly, the relative length of the entire boom is increased and the boom is at its longest when it is at its uppermost position.

Withthe reel above the stack, the boom is then lowered so that the reel comes into contact with the silage.

The basic path followed by the reel as it moves downwardly through the silage is a somewhat curved, al-

though essentially vertical path with the slope of the face of the out such that there is no overhang. In other words, the radial distance of the reel from the boom pivot is shortened enough relative to the radial movement to insure that the reel at the midpoint of its travel from the top of the stack will be closer to the pivot axis than it was at the time the cut commenced.

Silage loosened by the reel is, of course, delivered into the receptacle 13a where is is picked up by the conveyor and moved to the discharge.

Obviously, in order to produce a cut that has no overhang, it is necessary that the overall length of the loader boom and maximum elevation in relation to arc of swing be such that the cutter strikes the top of the stack while at its most extended position with respect to the boom pivot.

It will also be evident that the path of the cutter can be changed by using links like links 34 and 35, but which are of differing lengths between the pivot points rather than of equal length. This is encompassed in and contemplated by the claims.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and sub.- combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. In apparatus for removing ensilage from a stack of ensilage, the combination with a conveyor having a receiver adjacent and near the bottom of the stack and a pivotal main boom movable to different elevations above the conveyor, of

an extension boom associated with and forming an extension of said main boom,

an ensilage cutter mounted at the outer end of said extension boom, and

link means interconnecting said extension boom and said main boom for interrelated relative movement therebetween, said link means effecting movement of said extension boom relative to said main boom to vary the radial distance of said cutter from the main boom pivot axis in response to pivotal movement of said main boom.

2. The combination as in claim 1, wherein said main and extension booms are parallel,

said link means including a pair of parallel links pivoted to said main and extension booms at fixed points thereon to form a parallelogram arrangement therewith, one of said links having an extension projecting beyond the parallelogram and a control link pivotally connected at one end with said extension, the other end of said control link pivoted to a relatively sationary mounting offset from the pivot axis of said main boom. 

1. In apparatus for removing ensilage from a stack of ensilage, the combination with a conveyor having a receiver adjacent and near the bottom of the stack and a pivotal main boom movable to different elevations above the conveyor, of an extension boom associated with and forming an extension of said main boom, an ensilage cutter mounted at the outer end of said extension boom, and link means interconnecting said extension boom and said main boom for interrelated relative movement therebetween, said link means effecting movement of said extension boom relative to said main boom to vary the radial distance of said cutter from the main boom pivot axis in response to pivotal movement of said main boom.
 2. The combination as in claim 1, wherein said main and extension booms are parallel, said link means including a pair of parallel links pivoted to said main and extension booms at fixed points thereon to form a parallelogram arrangement therewith, one of said links having an extension projecting beyond the parallelogram and a control link pivotally connected at one end with said extension, the other end of said control link pivoted to a relatively sationary mounting offset from the pivot axis of said main boom. 